My bottle of Third Coast Old Ale is a little over three years (bottled 10-26-06) old. I figured now is as good a time as any to try it out. The baby is sleeping and the lady is out of the house.
It pours dark brown with a thin tan head that lingers reluctantly, eventually winding down to a thin collar. huge chunks of sediment float throughout.
Aroma is rich with caramel and dark fruit like raisin and cherry.
My tastebuds are assaulted by a range of tastes, from a distinct sourness to rich and sweet with caramel and syrup to warm bready notes. Bitter cocoa powder, brown sugar, plum, and raisin tastes are prevalent.
The alcohol isn't hot, but noticeaeble. The hops are slight and piney in character, but still hanging on after all this time.
This is a special beer not only because it is over three years old, but also because it is from Bell's Brewery (www.bellsbeer.com) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell's beer isn't distributed to Texas, which means I had to acquire it by extraordinary means. I'm glad I did, though. I've been looking at this beer in the back of the fridge for weeks, wondering when I was going to get a quiet moment to crack it and enjoy. Lucky for me, the baby is napping and the lady is at the gym. And me and my beer are happy.
Appearance- 4
Aroma- 4
Taste- 5
Overall- 4
Drink again? Yes! Though I would like to try a fresh batch, I don't think it gets better than this. It's one of the better barleywines I've tried.
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